


Muspelheim Thanksgiving

by dianamolloy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, Practical Jokes, Thanksgiving Dinner, Trickster Gods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 09:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12723837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianamolloy/pseuds/dianamolloy
Summary: Don't show up the Trickster God because even if he currently likes you, you'll still be sorry.Post Ulton, Pre Ragnarok, AU because of Ara from my series Just on the Other Side, you don't need to know that to read this.





	Muspelheim Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> Things are still horrifically bad, which I’m pretty sure has been my tune since August at this point?! N-E-way, I've been bleeding for 5w. I cannot change BC because of my blood pressure and BMI, so I'm left on medication that's leaving me *upside down smiley emoji* until I can get a coil in Feb which isn't recommended anyway if you have endometriosis. Anyone have vasectomy experience? We’re considering that instead.  
> Also it's the 3y anniversary period of something very terrible so when there is misery - WRITE AMUSING (well I was amused by it) FIC. Or drink, but I'm at work so...  
> 

Thanksgiving Dinner had started well.

Well enough.

Thor looked a little out of place in his and Jane's Midgardian home, everything much too small for a man who grew up in a palace and whose species towered over humans. Loki did too, but his lithe figure made him look less obviously out of place. Neither man blended in, but Thor had the double shock of his muscles as well as his height. Ara was loving being in London again and Jane Foster, the wildly clever astrophysicist whose warmth toward Ara was as genuine as her wariness of Loki, had cooked up a feast.

Beautiful, a genius and a great cook - Ara would have been jealous if she wasn't perfectly content with her own life. It was typical late November sort of weather in London, full of rain and a dampness in the air that left anyone who didn’t possess whatever sorcery Loki used on his long, inky locks frizzy and cold to the touch - that aspect actually matching the Jotnar-Aesir Prince.

The three-up, three-down house was very different from the few times Ara had visited Loki’s familial palace. Not just obviously in size but it was _cosy_ , a family lived here. Pictures decorated surfaces, bits of mess that showcased a lived-in-ness about it completely at odds with even the private spaces the Aesir royal family occupied. With Odin awake and back on the throne of Asgard, Thor had truly settled into a life with his mortal love and being part of the Avengers. 

Jane was telling the group of the necessary move, she had described it quite comically how the mountain that was Thor had struggled to fit in her originally tiny, top floor flat in Camberwell. Jane had not been well financed at the time but was now working as an independent contractor of the newly re-banded S.H.I.E.L.D., free of Hydra, (which apparently meant she could charge a small fortune, still undertake her own private research and mostly be a bad ass) that allowed the pair to move to a larger property. One not too far from Ara’s old place, she thought with a momentary pang. 

Ara was trying to gauge whether Thor’s forearm was wider than her own quite considerable large thigh, having not previously had as much time to observe him this close-up, as the man devoured a turkey leg that in his hand looked more like a small drumstick whilst Jane brushed off Loki’s questions about her current project for S.H.I.E.L.D.

”I’m not trying to take over your planet. At present,” he told her after she shrugged off his attempts at conversation.

”That’s not funny,” Jane snapped, slamming the glass of wine roughly on the pine dining table which laden with the sumptuous spread. Sumptuous spread and that weird sweet potato and marshmallow dish that the other three all seemed to love, and Ara had shied away from sampling. 

”Brother, apologise,” Thor placed a hand, the one with turkey grease Loki noted with amusement, on his fiancée’s back.

”For what. I am choosing perfectly polite mealtime topics whilst being treated rudely, despite being a guest,” Loki sipped his own wine, his manner irreverent as was usual.

Thor’s face clouded with irritation and Ara thought she heard in the distance a rumble from outside in the sky, quickly stepping in to avoid familial holiday drama Asgard style she turned to Jane, “how did you find everything? I didn’t even know we did eggnog in this country and those teeny, crispy onions on top of the green beans are my new favourite thing.”

The distraction worked and the rest of dinner passed without incident with Loki engaging in chatter with his brother and Ara keeping Jane busy with safer subjects of chit-chat. They had retired to the large living-room after everyone had had their fill, even with one healthy human appetite (Ara) and one befitting her small size (Jane) plus the black hole the two alien men seemingly had as their stomachs, there were plenty of leftovers.

Thor had seated himself on a La-Z-Boy recliner, Jane was on a high backed leather armchair and Ara and Loki were on the grey sofa, with the former resting her legs over her dark lover's firm thighs, her bare feet rubbing on the fine wool of his suit trousers. Everyone was tucking into dessert, a pecan and apple pie which Ara had brought. Not exactly homemade, Loki had distracted her from baking and the apples had turned an unappetising shade of black spot on the bottom. He had conjured a new one, ignoring Ara’s indignation that his was better than what she had been baking, even before he’d dragged her away with the promise of filthy actions. Ara wouldn’t admit it but it had been worth it; it always was. Loki didn’t need her to say it, the way she’d pressed her knees together even as she chastised him spoke for her.

"The Vanir are a prideful people," Thor was explaining to the women, sharing a story. "Their King, Frey, no longer happy to be part of the Nine Realms and under the Allfather had declared war. We had beat them to their home world, away from Asgard with Loki and I leading the battle-."

" _You_ led it," Loki interrupted, his face blank.

"In name only, Brother," Thor waved Loki's bitterness away, "Father identified we needed a central focus, but we fought together."

"That central point being you, of course," Loki muttered and Ara swung her legs off Loki and leaned herself into him, rubbing her thumb against his as she tucked one of her hands into his, her empty plate placed on the arm of the sofa.

"The King," Thor continued with his tale, "and the rest of the Royal Family were nowhere to be found but their soldiers surrounded us from every corner, their numbers far greater than ours even with some of the Einherjar. Odin has not wanted to leave Asgard unprotected and we were a small team, and playing to our skills, Loki and I used an old tactic of ours called 'Get Help'." Ara felt Loki's body tense, the tic in his jaw visible and had Thor drunk less with his food, he too might have noticed the telltale signs. “It catches everyone off guard, Loki leaning into me for support and looking unconscious as I yell that my brother needs medical assistance, the interlude allowing me to throw him at them, knocking them down and giving us a few moments of advantage and enough to secure victory,” Thor finished, demonstrating the action having stood up as Jane burst into laughter. “Here let me show you, Loki stand up,” he jovially walked to stand by Loki and Ara, Jane interrupting her laughter to tell him under no circumstances would there be a physical display, not after Sif had knocked a chunk of plaster on her last visit.

”I don’t believe I will, Thor,” Loki responded, eyes so very dark and posture coiled like a snake and Ara found herself poised to jump back. Loki wouldn’t let her get caught up but her flight sense was screaming at her, a voice as old as creation begging her to get away from the predator beside her. 

“You are no fun, Jane. It was an easy fix and you cannot even tell where the sword went in,” Thor grumbled but kissed the top of her head on the way back to his chair and a second later, Ara could have sworn she had seen a glimmer of green from Loki and the air around them had dropped several degrees, he began to scratch at his head. “What trickery is this,” he cried out, both of his hands frantic on his scalp as Jane and Ara stared at him and Loki inspected his perfectly manicured nails with disinterest. 

“Muspelheim fleas,” Loki’s thin mouth breaking into a capricious smile. “They do love long hair, their saliva is rather acidic on skin and their bites, I’m told, quite sharp.”

”Loki!” Thor thundered and attempted to reach his hand down to call for Mjolnir, but he couldn’t stop scratching.

”Fix this!” Jane angrily shouted. 

“I’m afraid I cannot, the only way those pests will leave him is if they no longer have that glorious mane to scurry through,” Jane ran out of the room and hurried back armed with scissors which she pointed at Loki who simply sat where he was and with a frustrated growl she went to Thor and started to hack away at his long, blond hair. “Thank you for a delightful evening,” Loki stood and fetched his single breasted, black cashmere coat and Ara’s red, velvet jacket and helped her put it on after she slid her patent black heels back on.

”You don’t change,” Jane spat out, most of Thor’s hair by her feet.

”You may wish to burn that,” Loki pointed to the mess of hair, “before they seek another home and my brother is forced to return the favour. Don’t forget to trim back _all_ of his hair,” with a look of horror, Thor reached inside of his jeans and swore at Loki, who laughed. There had been nothing there, he wasn’t that cruel but he couldn’t resist making Thor believe for a second he had.

With the last of his revenge for the embarrassment caused by his oafish brother’s story dolled out, he created a portal and placing his arm around Ara’s waist, walked them through with Ara calling out an apologetic ‘sorry’ before it closed.


End file.
